Egg prices soar to record

Consumers may pay up to $8 billion more for eggs in 2015 after the disease, according to a Goldman Sachs report.

Consumers may pay up to $8 billion more for eggs in 2015 after the disease, according to a Goldman Sachs report.

Photo: Justin Sullivan /Getty Images

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A dozen eggs costs 65 percent more than last year, or an average $2.85 for the week through July 16, according to the USDA.

A dozen eggs costs 65 percent more than last year, or an average $2.85 for the week through July 16, according to the USDA.

Photo: Justin Sullivan /Getty Images

Egg prices soar to record

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Consumers paid the most ever for eggs in June at grocery stores after a shortage caused by the worst U.S. outbreak of bird flu.

Prices surged 31 percent from the previous month to a record $2.57 for a dozen large eggs, the biggest jump going back to 1980, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released last week. Consumers may pay up to $8 billion more for eggs in 2015 after the disease, according to a Goldman Sachs report.

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Bird flu ravaged more than 48 million fowl in the six months through mid-June, according to U.S. Agriculture Department data. Iowa, the country’s largest producer, was hardest hit, losing almost 32 million birds, most of them egg-laying chickens. This reduced supplies and sent wholesale prices to a record $2.62 a dozen June 10, according to data from commodity researcher Urner Barry.

“The costs the retailers are paying for wholesale shell eggs are being passed along to the consumer,” said Brian Moscogiuri, an egg-market reporter for Urner Barry. “Those 35 million layers haven’t come back yet.”

Wholesale prices remain high although no reports of outbreaks have surfaced since June 17. Increased demand in July for yolks to make summer foods such as ice cream and mayonnaise is keeping wholesale prices at high levels, Moscogiuri said. Some large egg processors that went offline at the height of the outbreak are back in business, stretching supplies, he said.

A dozen wholesale eggs are 60 percent higher than last year at $2.40.

Eggs in grocery stores remain pricey this month. A dozen costs 65 percent more than last year, or an average $2.85 for the week through July 16, according to the USDA.